Page 72 of Prime Time Romance

Poppy and Sloan weren’t exactly nice to Luce. They hid her cheer uniform so that Poppy could take Luce’s place at the top of the pyramid, which ultimately secured her spot both literally and metaphorically at the top. They spread truthful but private rumors about Luce’s sex life so that Chad Michaels would break up with her and get back together with Poppy. It all felt so justified as I watched it at the time. Sloan and Poppy were who I aspired to be. I wanted them to win. Come out on top. I guess I never really thought about the cost.

The horse snorts.

“Yeah, I know.” I stroke the hairs of Buttercup’s mane. “I’m going to make it up to her, I promise.”

The horse swats its tail, but then turns and follows Luce toward the house.

“Hey. Wait up,” I call.

Luce pulls on her reins, slowing her horse so I can catch up.

I draw a deep breath in an attempt to get it all out at once.

“I have two things I need to tell you. The first is that I was the one who let your animals out this morning. Well, technically, it was Poppy, but I was her accomplice. And I will admit I didn’t know what was happening until after the fact, but I had a feeling she wasn’t up to anything good, and I didn’t try to stop her.”

Luce doesn’t say anything for a full minute. She just stares at the reins in her hands, and it’s absolutely excruciating.

Finally, she looks up. “I know.”

“You do? How?”

She raises her eyebrows and snorts. “Seriously? The majority of the angst in my life can be traced back to the two of you, as history tends to repeat itself in this place. Also, you realize you are dressed like a Navy SEAL. Or at least what Sloan Edwards thinks a Navy SEAL should look like.”

I stare down at my entirely black outfit.

“If you knew, then why did you offer me a ride?”

Luce shrugs. “At first, it was fun making you sweat. Both figuratively and literally. But also, I’m tired of being your enemy, Sloan. I figured if you and Poppy were going to continue acting like mean girls, I was going to make my own choice and take the high road. I hoped at least one of you would come around, and if you didn’t, I’d at least sleep better at night.”

I’m tired of this too. I may not actually be Sloan, but I would hope that she’d want this feud to end as well.

“So what’s the other thing?” Luce interrupts my thoughts.

My throat goes dry with the realization that I’m only halfway done with my confession.

“I signed you up for the pageant.”

Luce stops her horse. “What?”

“I put your name down. Poppy said you wanted to compete. If you don’t want to do it, I can tell her it was me. I just wanted you to have the chance to try.”

“Why did you do that?”

I attempt to wrangle all of the stray thoughts from the last few days that led me to write down her name.

“I think, like you, I’m ready for this place to be different. All that stuff we did to you back in high school was wrong, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to see it that way. I know I should have stopped Poppy this morning. I know there are probably a million other things I could also do. I really am sorry about your animals.” I stroke Buttercup’s neck.

Luce takes a deep breath, as if processing all of it.

She looks over. “Don’t sweat it. We’re good, Sloan.”

I get an unexpected swell of emotion at her words, and for a moment, I think I might even cry.

“So, can we start fresh? I really would love to come out and visit your farm. I have had literal dreams about your goat cheese.”

Luce doesn’t look at me but nods. “I’d like that.”

Buttercup snorts as if she too approves.